For UCF players, matchup with Hall of Famer Larry Brown surreal but motivation

Knights say they watched Brown as he coached their hometown teams, now get a chance to play against him

January 25, 2013|By Paul Tenorio, Orlando Sentinel

When Hall of Famer Larry Brown coaches a game in Orlando, most people expect him to be pacing courtside at the Amway Center.

Today, however, the legendary coach will be about 25 minutes east of downtown at UCF Arena where the Knights (13-5, 3-1 Conference USA) host Brown's SMU (11-9, 1-4 C-USA) team.

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. There is no television coverage.

For those on the other side of the court from Brown, there will be a sort of surreal feeling to look over and see the longtime coach at work.

As a young child, freshman point guard Daiquan Walker used to emulate Allen Iverson. A Philadelphia native, Walker wore a sleeve on his arm and tape on his fingers, even the headband that Iverson rocked in his days with the Philadelphia 76ers when he sparred with and thrived under Brown.

Now, just midway through his first collegiate season, Walker will be announced in the starting lineup against the coach that led his hometown team to the NBA Finals in 2000-01. Walker laughed that he might even break out the Iverson crossover he still employs to this day.

"Yeah, I'll pull it over," Walker said. "I probably use it once or twice a game."

UCF junior Calvin Newell, also a Philadelphia native, said those 76ers teams were must-watch television and undoubtedly an influence on him growing up. The games were often too crowded for him to go, he said, but he would find a way to watch A.I. play.

Newell said he used to love Brown's teams and the Iverson cut he would employ, "where Iverson would come over the top of the ball screen," Newell said, and the Oklahoma transfer said he is excited for an opportunity to leave even a small impression on Brown.

"It's going to be amazing," Newell said. "Now he's making a scouting report for me. That's weird, it's awkward. He is used to making a scouting report for guys in the NBA, different guys like that. Now a guy that coached a Hall of Famer in A.I. is going to be coaching against me."

The meeting will also be a first for UCF coach Donnie Jones, who has admired Brown from afar since his days at UCLA and through stints in the NBA and his years at Kansas, where he won a national championship in 1998.

Jones said he has never met Brown in person, but looks forward to matching up with him on Saturday evening against the Mustangs.

"He's had success everywhere he's been," Jones said. "And he's doing a really good job there at SMU. Sometimes the wins and losses doesn't give you the credibility of the job you're doing there, especially when it's your first year. You look down that sideline once the game gets going you don't think about nothing, you get the competitive spirit, but obviously the respect I have for him is very immense."

That respect creates drive, as well.

Junior guard Isaiah Sykes, a Detroit native and lifelong Pistons fan, said he remembers watching the Pistons when Larry Brown coached them to an NBA championship in 2003-04. Sykes said he attended a few games and admired the defensive attitude Brown's teams adopted.

Come tipoff, though, that admiration will fade into motivation.

"I want to beat him," Sykes said. "That's my goal, is to say Larry Brown was coaching against me and we beat him."